Child of the Moon
by fortheloveofOTPs
Summary: Ever since Emrys was brought in from her mom's doorstep she tried to live a normal life be a small town girl, and she succeeded quite well. But when a new girl arrives in town with her mysterious Uncle, Emrys finds that there just might be more to her past and even more to her future then she thought.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone, so im starting a new story, as you can see. This doesn't really have to do with the pjo timeline, but its probably right after battle of the labyrinth. anyone have fun reading and don't forget to review!**

I grabbed the pillar as I flew down the stairs, late for school as usual. I bounded into the kitchen and grabbed an apple from the bowl on the counter.

"Do you need a ride?" my brother called from the bathroom, where he was helping my youngest sibling get dressed.

"Nah, I'll walk. But thanks anyway Dylan."

"Better hurry then, you're late."

"Aren't I always?" I mumbled around a mouth full of apple.

"Bye Emmy," my little brother said as he wrapped his arms around me.

"Bye Elliot," I said in response. "Have a good day at school James!" I yelled into the den where my other brother James was frantically trying to finish his homework. I rushed out the door and sprinted off towards school, my backpack bouncing against my legs as I ran.

I made it into the building as the minute warning bell was ringing. It was my second month of tenth grade; or second month of hell as I liked to call it. It might be better if I didn't have so many people in the house. My dad died 6 years ago, right before Lanie was born, and then my two older cousins came to live with us and life has been hectic ever since.

I tossed my apple core in the trash then ran my fingers through my still messy hair as I slid into my seat. My friend Mark gave me a knuckle bump as the bell rang. I had made it right in the nick of time.

"Did you do the math homework from last night?" Mark asked in a hushed voice as the teacher rummaged around her desk, getting stuff together.

"Please tell me you did it," I pleaded.

Mark gave me a sheepish look that told me everything I needed to know.

"What other homework do you need?"

"French," he said, eyes cast on the ground.

The teachers back was turned, writing on the board this time, so I quickly tossed him my French booklet and then the math packet we had completed last night. Mark wasn't the smartest kid in school, but he was smart and sweet and despite his best efforts not the best learner. The lesson started and I was emerged in an exquisite in depth study of The Anthem, our latest book. The hour ticked by slowly.

After this year I had two years of school left. Then I could get away. I had always known I wanted to travel, my dad had even put away a jar in the living room, complete with a little label that read 'Emrys's Future'. But then he had gotten sick really fast, and every bit of spare change was put into his hospital bills. I had been saving up some since then, but every time I got a good bit of money I ended up spending it on my siblings.

The bell rang and I packed up my notes and slipped everything into my bag.

"Come on Marcus, let's go to art."

Mark groaned, "That's not my name you know."

"You love it when I call you that," I said with a grin.

"Maybe just you," said Mark with an eye roll.

I linked my arm in his and we set off down the hall way together. Some type of god must have been looking down upon us when the school schedules were made, for we shared every period but third together, when I went off to advanced chemistry and Mark to regular. We arrived in art earlier than usual and took a set near the back, where the most light from the windows came into the classroom. I pulled out my sketch book and flipped it to our latest assignment.

We were supposed to be painting something that held deeper meaning to us. Most people were painting a family member or a childhood toy. Mark was painting this pair of beaten up combat boots he always wore. To be honest it was quite a good painting, full of different shading techniques and all. I grabbed a cup of water and two sets of brushes. Then I got my painting from the rack it had been resting on.

I was painting the moon. A big, full moon on a clear night sky. I had redone the blending of the moon into the sky four times before I was finally happy with it. Then the sky itself was problematic, being dark but not all the way black, with hints of deep blue or purple here or there. I was in the final stages of the painting, adding definition to the moon's rough and tattered surface.

The bell signaling the start of class rang and the murmur of voices died down as everyone set to work. Mark and I worked in silence, with the occasion question from him, asking how something looked or if he should shade lighter or darker. I was happy to finish my painting before class's end, and set to work cleaning my brushes. As I was cleaning them I was joined by Nate, a boy who I had honestly never shared a word with outside of art class, and barely shared one with inside of class.

"Did you hear about the new girl?" he asked as he began washing his brushes.

After I got over the initial shock of him having actually talking to me I was confused, I didn't hear of a new girl. "No," I admitted.

"Well she's smocking hot. I'm pretty sure she has Chemistry next period. Mrs. Landar."

"That's what I have," I said as I finished washing up my brushes and started drying them. "I guess I'll see her then." I tossed the towel down and headed back to my table.

"Be sure to put in a good word for me!" Nate called after me, like I would ever put in a good word for him.

"What was that all about?" Mark asked as I got back to the table.

"Apparently there's a new girl. I have chemistry with her next period."

"Have fun without me," Mark said with a mock pout.

I rolled my eyes at him as I fell back into my seat. I glance over at his painting and was shocked.

"Oh my god Mark, that's amazing!" I exclaimed.

"Really?" he asked, looking up.

"Are you kidding me? It looks just like a photograph!"

"A black and white one."

"Those are the best kinds," I said as I leaned in closer to get a better look.

"You don't think it needs anything else done on it?" he asked, worried.

"Not at all," I reassured. "This belongs in an art museum as it is."

"Sure it does," Mark said with a laugh as he got up to wash his brushes.

As he did that I carefully placed first mine then Mark's paintings in the drying racks. Then I went over to help Mark wash his brushes.

"Now you don't have art homework for tonight."

"But I have lots of other homework. And no one's home tonight, my dad's out of town again."

Mark never really told me much about his life at home, and I never pried. Whenever we hung out it was out in town or at my house.

"You could sleep over if you wanted. We could do homework, watch a Disney movie with the kids, and there's a full moon tonight." I said, smiling up at him.

"How could I say no to you?" he asked as he pressed a cold and wet finger to my nose before going off to get his bag.

"Hey!" I protested as I wiped my nose clean and chased after him.

"I'll go get my stuff after school and come right over. What's for dinner?"

"Most likely chicken and pasta," I said as I gathered up my stuff.

"Sounds delicious."

The bell rang then so we parted ways.

"Have fun in chemistry!" he called at my retreating form.

"Pay attention!" I yelled back.

I was engulfed by the crowd after that but I could have sworn I heard him yell 'no promises' back.

I chuckled as I made my way through the crowded halls to my locker, to grab my advanced chemistry book. Once the book was safely tucked under my arm I headed back down the hall to my class. When I got there it was still pretty empty, the only people there being the early comers like me. I grabbed my normal seat near the window, second row.

I pulled a book out my bag and tried to entertain myself as the class room slowly filled up. Out of the corner of my eye I saw someone sit beside me, but I didn't bother to glance up until the warning bell rang. When I did I saw the one and only new girl, as I didn't recognize her. She actually was gorgeous, I had to admit. She wore her curly blonde hair in a messy braid down her back and an orange shirt, with something that looked like a pegasus on it. Her bag looked pretty new, must be a new town thing, as did all her school supplies. She had high cheek bones and a Grecian looking nose, with intimidating grey eyes that were currently trained on the white board.

Without warning she turned to me, her eyes calculating.

"I'm sorry, but could you tell me what it says in the right hand corner, the stuff written in cursive?"

I must have been looking at her with a questioning expression for she rushed to explain.

"It's just that I'm dyslexic and that's some pretty messy cursive."

I had to agree with her, Mrs. Landar's cursive was of the worst quality.

"Sure," I agreed. "It's just the date, September 25, Wednesday. Then underneath it says lesson 13, which is the lesson we're currently on."

"Thanks" she said, flashing me a grateful smile. "I'm Annabeth by the way."

"Nice to meet you Annabeth, my name's Emrys."

She stared at me with an odd expression for a moment before going back to her smile.

"I was going to say that's an interesting name, which is what most people say for mine."

I smiled, "My brother chose it for me, though he was only four at the time so that probably wasn't the best choice my parents could have made."

Our conversation probably could have gone on longer, but the bell rang and Annabeth turned her head back to the front and began taking notes on Mrs. Landar's lecture.

Today is actually shaping out to be a pretty nice day, I thought to myself. I wasn't late this morning, we had a new girl who seemed pretty cool, and Mark was sleeping over this evening, and it wasn't even lunch.


	2. Chapter 2

**hi guys, this is sort of my nanowrimo story, but the only thing Im following from it is the whole 1,670 words a day, even though this will be published spread out throughout novemeber and the proceeding months, just a little note. I hope you are enjoying, it will pick up pace soon, I promise! don't forget to review my loves!**

**oh and p.s. nice job on the name origin! its meaning will come into play later... not the merlin meaning but like what it actually means**

**and p.p.s. im laughing my head off because I just realized exactly how overdone a child of artemis is so I apologize for that and I promise to try to make my story as unique as possible**

Chemistry flew by as I did my best to pay attention and take notes. Then the bell rang and Annabeth was out the door before I had time to ask her what her next class was. I packed my bag back up and made my way to my locker to drop off my books and grab my lunch. I leisurely made my way to the front lawn, knowing that Mark already had our usual spot taken.

Sure enough when I got out the doors there he was, basking in the sun by the side of the building. I dropped my bag and plopped down next to him.

"What's shakin' bacon?" He asked, squinting up at me from his laying down position on the grass.

I just pressed my lips together and shook my head at his greeting.

He shrugged, "I'll have a new one for tomorrow."

"Where do you get all these?" I asked as he sat up.

"Internet." He said, as though the answer should have been obvious.

"Oh yes, of course." I said under my breath.

I tipped my lunch bag over and dumped out its contents, rifling through them.

"Banana me," Mark said.

I tossed him my banana and he tossed me his apple in return. I have a thing for apples. I bit into it with a crunch as I leaned against the sun warmed brick. Mark and I were quiet for a moment as we both munched happily on our lunches.

"Is that the new girl?" Mark asked, pointing off in the distance.

I followed his line of sight and sure enough saw Annabeth, making her way throughout the random groups sitting on the grass. She found a spot she liked and sat down, pulling out an orange and a notebook, which she began writing in.

"Yeah that's her, her name's Annabeth."

"She sort of looks like you."

"She does not." I protested.

"Sure she does. You have the same curly hair."

"That's all you have."

"Your hair is both messy."

I laughed and shoved Mark's shoulder.

"Ow," he fake pouted. "I think you should give me your gushers now."

"You can't have my gushers. I had to steal them from Elliot. There's no way you're taking them from me."

"Guess I'll just have to let Elliot tonight just where his gushers are disappearing to."

"You wouldn't," I gasped.

"Oh but my dear Emrys, I would."

"Evil little person." I said as I dumped half the gusher packet into Mark's waiting hand.

"Plus you guys have the same nose." Mark continued as he slowly squeezed a gusher between his fingers until the juice began to ooze out."

"The same nose?" I asked, rubbing my nose.

"Yeah, it's sloped and little."

"What else do we have the same?"

Mark shrugged, "You're both tall."

I rolled my eyes. "How would you know how tall Annabeth is!"

"I don't know. Wait, I've got one."

"Please, enlighten me," I said as I motioned for him to continue.

"You both have odd names."

"You're insufferable."

"And you shouldn't use big words."

"You should pay more attention in English."

We continued to banter back in forth as I began picking up my trash. Mark joined in to help and together we dropped it off at the trashcan. We began heading back inside, the bell was about to ring anyways.

Mark shook his hair out his eyes as we entered the building.

"You need to cut your hair again," I commented, noticing how his bangs were inching down to the tip of his nose."

"I know, you should braid it back tonight." He said teasingly.

"Don't you dare say that around Lanie, she's going through a braiding phase." I said with a shudder.

"Oh your poor tender head."

"She is not the gentlest hair stylist out there, that is for sure."

"Let's hope you're better. Come on, the bell for math is about to ring. I bet you five bucks I'll get a hundred on the homework," Mark said.

"Only because you copied me."

"Details, details," Mark said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

We got to math and to my surprise Annabeth was already there, seated in a seat a row in front of where Mark and I usually sit. We made our way back there, and I smiled at her, which she returned.

Mark and I took our seats and settled in, then Annabeth turned around.

"Hi, it was Emrys right?" She asked.

"Yup," I nodded, "and this is my friend Mark."

"Hi Mark," Annabeth greeted.

Mark responded with a wave of his hand.

"He's not very social," I explained.

Annabeth smiled. "What other classes do you have? Perhaps we have more together."

Well I have English first and art second, then Chemistry third and lunch fourth, as you know. Then I have Math fifth, history sixth, French seventh, and P.E. eighth. Mark has same as me expect he has a different chemistry class."

"Wow, you guys were lucky to go get such similar schedules. I have P.E. with you after this, but that's all."

I nodded and the conversation sort of died from there. Luckily the bell rang and Annabeth had to turn around, saving me from any more awkward encounters.

Once she was turned around I hit Mark in the arm, "Thanks for throwing all the conversation over to me."

Mark held up his hands in surrender. "You even said it yourself, I don't like being social."

I rolled by eyes and tried to pay attention to what the math teacher was explaining on the board but Mark kept distracting me with little notes. Eventually we started doing one line stories, where I write a line for it then Mark, and so on. So far our story involved a leprechaun, a zebra, and a pot of liquid gold, which turned out to be fondue, which the now killer leprechaun used to dip chunks of the half cooked zebra into, to make it 'taste better' as Mark had put it.

I tried to stifle a giggle as we reread what had become of our one liner story. I didn't do very well though for a received a pointed glare from the teacher. I straightened out my face and flipped to a new page in my notebook, resuming my note taking. Math finished without any more events and Mark and I were off to history, waving goodbye to Annabeth. History was uneventful, like usual. We were doing presentations today and let me tell you there is nothing worse on this earth then listening to ten students in a row drone on about the industrial age of Great Britain.

I'm also pretty sure Mark fell asleep a couple of times, counting on me to quietly nudge him awake. It took far too long for the bell to finally ring and I was excited for French. We had had our first test the other day, which meant today was a party day. Certain students were assigned to bring food and we would all sit and eat and watch French cartoons.

I excitedly dragged Mark along behind me, pushing my way through the crowded hallways in my rush to get to French class, which was on the other side of the school. We made it in time, which I was grateful for. I found my seat and slid into it, Mark taking his usual spot next to me. After the bell rang and the usual morning warm-ups were done our teacher allowed to food to be passed out as she turned on the projector.

Mark went off to get each of us a plate while I grabbed a pillow from the large pile in the corner for us to lean against. We settled in to watch the cartoons and continue our one line story, this time in French. Although we were doing such a great job with the vocabulary, mixing up words to the point where the story made no sense and sentences were half in French and half in English.

All too soon the bell rang and we were off to P.E., although at least it was the last class of the day. The halls were less crowded now, as many older students had eighth period off. Once we got to the gym Mark and I split up, me going to the girls dressing room and him to the boys.

When I got to my locker I was surprised to see Annabeth already changing, though I do remember her telling me she also had P.E. this period.

"Hey Emrys," she greeted me with a smile.

"Hey Annabeth," I said as I stuffed my bag in my locker and pulled out my gym clothes.

Our school gym uniforms consisted of navy shorts that were supposed to reach your knee, though no one ever listened to that rule, and either a white or red shirt. To me we looked like the American flag walking around outside.

"Do you know what we're doing in gym today?" Annabeth asked as she pulled her messy hair back into a ponytail.

"I'm not sure but I think we're starting our archery unit today."

"I love archery," Annabeth said with a grin. "Have you ever shot a bow and arrow?"

"Nope," I said with a shake of my head as I finished pulling on my converse.

"Hmm," she responded, almost looking puzzled by my expression.

We finished changing and headed out the locker room together, meeting up with Mark who was already sprawled out on the bleachers.

"Push over," I said as I nudged his skinny form.

"No," he moaned as he flung his arm over his eyes. "I'm sleeping. If you're quiet perhaps the coach won't notice me."

It didn't work though, for we were called over to the center of the gym along with the rest of the kids. Coach explained the basic rules of archery, and tried to show us the proper stance for arrow shooting, something about keeping your shoulders steady. Then we were dismissed with a wave of her hand to gather our rubber tipped arrows and line up by the targets.

Annabeth, Mark, and I all shared a target.

"I'll go first," Mark volunteered, "show you ladies how it's done."

"In your dreams," I said with a smirk as Mark took up his stance in front of the target. He pulled his bow string back and let the arrow fly, missing by a wide gap.

"I just need to try again," he said as he notched another arrow in place.

He pulled back the string again and let the arrow fly, better this time as it bounced off the wooden frame which held the target.

"One more try," I said as I handed him his final arrow.

He pulled it back once more.

"Keep your shoulders down," Annabeth suggested.

Mark rolled his shoulders and repositioned them before letting his final arrow fly.

The shoulder tip must be helpful for this time his arrow lodged itself in the outermost ring of the target.

"Nice," I said to Mark as I high fived him. "But I bet Annabeth can do better."

Annabeth grinned as she stepped up to the target. She stood for a moment with her feet apart and arms down but still locked onto the bow. Then with one swift movement she raised her bow and fired, the arrow lodging itself right at the center of the target.

"Woah," I said as Mark whistled in appreciation.

"Where'd you learn to shoot like that?" I asked in awe.

"At I camp I go to, I'm not even the best one there."

"Can you do it again?" I asked.

"Sure, but this time I'll go a little to the right, and the next a little to the left."

She notched in another arrow and took her same stance, pulling back the bow string and firing all in one motion. Before I could even comprehend where that arrow had landed she had already readied and launched her second arrow. Sure enough all three arrows stood out in a perfect little line.

"That's brilliant," I said.

"You have to teach me that sometime," Mark pleaded.

"Sure thing," Annabeth said with a laugh as she went off to retrieve her and Mark's arrows.

Then it was my turn. I tried to take the stance the coach had showed me, but it just didn't feel right. So I rolled my shoulders around and shifted my feet a bit until I found a stance I was comfortable in. I notched my arrow in correctly and took a deep breath, steadying my shoulders like Annabeth had said. Then I pulled back the bow string and released, letting the arrow fly.

I watched it sail for a split second before it lodged itself right in the center of the target. We were all silent for a moment, taking in this unexpected turn of events.

"Woah," Mark said quietly.

"Are you sure you've never shot an arrow before?" Annabeth asked.

"I've never shot anything, not even a nerf gun."

"Do it again." Annabeth advised. "Except this time aim for the line right above the target."

I set up my stance again, quicker this time, and let my arrow fly. Once again it hit its intended target.

"Man Emrys, you've been holding out on me!" Mark said in appreciation.

"I didn't even know!" I exclaimed.

"Do it once more," Annabeth instructed, "but faster this time. As if notching your arrow and taking your stance then firing were all one movement."

I did as told, scooping up an arrow and notching it in place, then aiming and firing all before I even had the chance to realize what I was doing. Sure enough I hit the line around the target right to the left, so my arrows formed a little triangle.

"Amazing," Mark breathed. "Now I'm going to need archery lessons from both of you.

Annabeth looked like she was going to add something but the coach blew her whistle, instructing us to start cleaning up and changing.

"I'll bring the bow back, you two get the arrows." Annabeth said, as she turned around with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"She seem a bit off to you?" Mark asked as we began retrieving my arrows.

"How would you know? You've known her for a day."

"Yeah you're probably right," Mark said. "Go get changed, I'll meet you at your house in thirty minutes."

"Dealio," I said with a grin.

Mark rolled his eyes as he went off to get dressed.


	3. Chapter 3

**ooooh another chapter update, bit shorter then the last but brilliant all the same. thanks so much for reading you guys, and don't forget to review!**

**also I plan on updating this story every sunday and Wednesday, I already have most of the chapters written and it kills me to wait so long between posting them but the time lapse gives me more time to write more chapters without having to make you guys wait for a while later on! hope you enjoy!**

I went into my own locker room and stuffed my day clothes into my backpack, not even bothering to change out of my gym clothes for the walk home. Annabeth was leaving just as I was so I caught up to walk with her.

"Are you walking home?" I asked.

"Yeah, you?"

I nodded in response. "Which way do you go?"

"Uhm, to the right I think, once we get to the front of the school."

"Me too!" I exclaimed. "Would you like to walk together?"

"Sure," she agreed.

We talked about mundane things as we walked. She told me how she moved here from New York just last week with her uncle. I asked her how she was liking Colorado and she told me it was definitely a big change from New York. I told her to just wait until the snow came, the ski season was amazing.

"So who do you live with?" She asked once she had finished telling me about her uncle.

"Well my mom's really the only adult, my dad died several years ago. But then there's also my brother, who's nineteen, his name is Dylan, and two of my cousins live with me, Jessi and Jill. They're both seventeen. Then there's me, and then I have three younger siblings, Lanie, Elliot, and James whom are six, eight, and ten. We have a pretty full house."

Annabeth laughed, "I've always wanted lots of siblings."

"They're definitely fun, but they can get annoying at times."

"I'd expect so."

We continued talking as we made our way into the neighborhood. So Annabeth stopped in front of a small blue house that I hadn't even noticed was for sale. It looked a bit run down, paint peeling off and shutters crooked.

"It doesn't look like much, but my uncle says it's a fixer upper."

"Is that him?" I asked, pointing to the man I saw on the porch. He was sitting in a wheelchair with blankets wrapped around his legs. He wore a red flannel shirt and a scruffy beard.

"Yeah, that's him."

When he saw us his eyes lit of and his mouth crinkled into a smile. "Annabeth," he called, "why don't you introduce me to your new friend?"

"Do you have time to meet him?" Annabeth asked, turning to me.

"Sure," I said with a shrug.

We went up the front porch steps where her uncle sat. Up close her uncle looked kinder, evident laugh lines etched around his brown eyes. Annabeth didn't look much like him, with her light hair and grey eyes.

I stuck my hand out for him to shake, which he did. His hand was warm and callused, which made me wonder what he could be doing, with his wheel chair and all.

"My name's Emrys," I said in greeting.

"Emrys, what a lovely name, you can call me Bryan."

"Bryan," I said, trying it out.

"Well it is so nice to meet you, I won't keep you any longer."

I smiled and nodded goodbye as I made my way back down the porch steps. As I was leaving I could have sworn I heard Bryan ask Annabeth 'Is that her?' and Annabeth responded with 'Yes', but that was absurd so I brushed it off and continued walking.

I made it to my house soon enough, which was on the next street over from Annabeth's. Judging by the clock I had about fifteen minutes before Mark came over. I wandered into the den where Elliot and James were doing homework.

"How was school?" I asked as I threw my bag down onto the couch and clumped down next to it.

"Schoolish." James answered.

"I had fun," Elliot said.

"You're in second grade, of course you had fun." James countered.

"Well you're only in fourth. I wish I was in kindergarten like Lanie. She has it easiest."

"I wish that too," I said from my spot on the couch. "Oh, Mark's coming over tonight."

"Really!" James exclaimed. "Do you think he'll help me on my lego statue? I can't get this one piece to fit."

"I'm sure he will," I said with a grin. "Where's everybody else?"

"Dylan's still at work and Jessi took Lanie to ballet. I think Jill's upstairs working on homework or something."

"Alright then, I'm gonna go bother her until Mark gets here."

"Have fun!" Elliot called after me.

I made my way up the stairs. We had a pretty big house when you think of it. Downstairs was our den and kitchen along with my mom's room and office and Dylan's room. Then upstairs we had four rooms. One was for Jessi and Jill, one for Elliot and James, one for Lanie, and the last one was for me. We only had two bathrooms though, which proved to be very problematic in the mornings, but we compromised by having the little ones use mom's bathroom.

I made my way to the end of the hall to drop off my bag. When I peered into my room I saw it was in its same disorganized chaos that I had left it in. Unfortunately the cleaning fairies had not come. I decided that I should probably clean it up some before Mark got here. I quickly threw all my pillows back onto my bed and neatened them up some. My school books went into a pile on the corner of my desk, with homework and pencils stacked on top. I tried to straighten some of the books in my bookcase but it was so overflowing that there was really no helping it.

I carried in a grocery bag and began throwing all the little bits of trash I had away, then carried my dirty laundry down to the laundry room, and finally hung up some shirts that had taken up residence on the floor of my closet. I collapsed on the bed, finally done. The door bell rang and I groaned at the thought of getting up. Luckily I didn't have to.

"I'll get it!" James yelled up the stairs.

"Make sure it's Mark first!" I yelled back.

I heard the door open and then Mark's steps up the stairs. He came down the hall and pushed open the door of my room.

"Wow, someone cleaned up."

"Only for you," I said with a yawn.

"We should take a nap," he said as he laid out on my floor.

"Or we could do homework. Like we're supposed to."

"Is it your turn to cook dinner tonight?"

"Nope, I was last night. Tonight's Jill's turn."

"Oh god," Mark said as he clutched his stomach. "She'll poisonous all."

"I heard that!" Jill called from down the hall.

I laughed, "Better be careful what you say in a house with so many people."

"Love you too Jill!" Mark called back.

I pulled out my math book and the assignment we had been given today and slid off the bed, landing on the floor with a thump.

"Ever so graceful," Mark commented.

"Shut up. Or I'll leave you to do these thirty six math problems all on your own."

"You wouldn't," Mark gasped.

"Try me," I said as I raised an eyebrow.

Mark set his lips in a thin line as he pointedly opened his own math book and pulled out a sheet of notebook paper, stealing a pencil off my desk. He got to work, and I was surprised to see him easily work through the first problem and start on the second. It usually took much more coaxing to get him going at a steady pace.

"Aren't you gonna start working?" he asked without looking up. "There's a full moon tonight and I don't want to miss it because you weren't done with your homework."

"Oh, of course." I said as I got started on my own problems. We finished the math in about thirty minutes and started on our history essays. Mark's attention began to wane though, as I had to keep reminding him to stay focused. We were about an hour into it and I was wrapping up with my conclusion paragraph when Jill called us down for dinner.

"Perfect timing," Mark said as he stood and stretched, cracking his back.

"How much more do you have left?" I asked as we made our way through the hall and down the stairs.

"Just the last three chapters of my English book, we didn't get chemistry homework today."

"Perfect," I said, "I have an essay to write on chemistry and then I'm done. We should be finished by eight. Then the moon will be high enough."

We made our way into the kitchen and sat at the table. Mom was home by now, as were Lanie and Jessi. Dylan was still at work so Mark sat in his usual seat. The food was served, chicken and pasta as expected and everyone dug in. Mom went around the table, asking everyone how their day at school was. When she got to me I said the same as usual.

"Oh, there was also a new girl today."

"Really?" mom asked.

"Yeah, her name was Annabeth."

"That's interesting, we don't get many new people. I'm sure you'll make her feel nice and welcomed."

I nodded in confirmation as my mom moved on to ask Lanie how her day was. It was true though, the whole bit about not getting a lot of new people. We were a small town, 500 kids at the most in the high school, and being up in the mountains guaranteed not a lot of visitors. But the views were amazing and the night sky was clear so I was happy living here.

Mark and I ate quickly then excused ourselves from the table, quickly hurrying back up to my room to get our homework finished. We emerged ourselves in work, until an hour later, 8:07 to be precise, we were done. There was a flurry of movement as we slipped on our boots and tiptoed down the stairs. We had made it to the kitchen where we were seen by James.

"Are you going out again?" he asked in a hushed voice.

I nodded, "Going to watch the moon."

"Have fun," he whispered as he made his way back up the stairs.

"Alright let's go," I said as I motioned to Mark to follow me.

We eased the door open and slipped out, allowing the early fall air to wash over ourselves as we made way for the woods.


	4. Chapter 4

**hi everyone, another chapter update for you! thank you so much for reading and don't forget to review!**

We ran for the first bit, dodging between houses and through bushes. When we reached the edge of my neighborhood where it met the tree line we slowed down, catching our breath.

"Can you see it yet?" Mark asked.

I looked up, but the trees were blocking my way. "No," I said as I shook my head. "We have to get to the clearing first."

We continued walking through the woods, our breaths making light puff sin the air. I was wearing a leather jacket over my shirt so I felt warm enough, especially with my boots on. Soon enough we made our way to a clearing Mark had discovered some time ago.

We were pretty sure no one else knew about it, which was a shame for them. In the spring and summer the clearing grew to be quite beautiful, with lavender bushes lining the sides and bursts of wildflowers popping up all over. Not too far off was a batch of blueberry bushes which we liked to pick and eat. Opposite the bushes was a small stream where we could dip our feet when it got too hot. In the fall all the tree leaves would become gorgeous colors of deep red and gold and it seemed as though the forest was on fire amidst the ever greens. In the winter snow would cover the ground, making it harder for us to cover our tracks, but the sight was worth it. Webs of ice would weave themselves between the tree branches and the smaller branches would be dipped low with the weight of snow.

Around this time of year the leaves were just starting to lose their green color in favor of darker reds and oranges. The dry grass crunched underfoot as we made our way to the middle of the clearing and Mark spread out the small blanket he had brought. We sat on the middle of it together and aid back, waiting for our eyes to adjust to the dark sky.

Soon I was able to make out the hundreds of stars, tiny pin pricks on the dark blue sky. We began pointing different ones out to each other, me naming real constellations, Mark making them up as he went. After a while of doing that I could just began to see the tip of the moon peeking out behind the trees. I pointed it out to Mark and together we watched as it continued to rise, at a pretty decent pace too. As more of it became visible over the sky the clearing around us began to light up with silvery moonlight. Soon I could see every blade of grass, as if it was a cloudy day. Our shadows became darker and more defined as more moonlight poured itself into the clearing.

Soon the whole moon was visible to us, and its ascent began to slow as it inched closer to the top of the sky. It was truly beautiful tonight, full and big, as if someone had poured quicksilver into the sky and let it harden. After watching it for a bit Mark stood up and turned to face me, offering me his hand.

"May I have this dance?" he asked, a smile etched into his face.

I sat up on the blanket and took his hand, allowing him to pull me to a standing position.

"Of course you may."

He grinned and placed one hand on my waist, while I placed one no his shoulder. Our other hands held each other with our arms straight down. We had learned to dance a while back, in sixth grade, and while everyone else had forgotten we had remembered, keeping the steps alive in a moonlit clearing. We did the jazz step first, ducking under each other's arms, until that morphed into a fox trot. Around the clearing we went, spinning and laughing, tripping over our own feet. That turned into a waltz and I was swept across the clearing, letting my steps take me away from Mark, then close, then under his arm and back away.

We soon grew tired, as the moon inched itself higher in the sky. We collapsed on the blanket, exhausted.

"What time do you think it is?" Mark asked as he played with my hair.

I shrugged, "Probably around eleven."

"We should head back then."

I silently agreed, but still didn't want to. "Yeah," I finally said, "we should."

Together we stood and he picked up the blanket, shaking it out. I helped him fold it and then we left the clearing together, but not before I turned back to say goodbye to the moon. When I did I froze, and reached out a hand to stop Mark in his tracks.

"What is it?" he whispered.

"I thought I saw something."

"Well it is the woods, it was probably an animal or something."

"No, I think I saw some_one_."

Mark was silent for a moment as we both tried to squint into the darkness beyond the clearing. Just when I was about to give up I saw it again.

Mark grabbed my arm, letting me know he saw it too. We looked at each other, eyes wide.

"Let's run," he whispered.

I nodded, silent. We began to run, but not before I glanced back once more, and there they were, staring at us. I whipped my head back around and sprinted after Mark, trying to remember exactly what I saw. They must have light hair, which is what caught my attention the first time. The second time I saw their orange shirt, an oddly bright color to be wearing at night, although they could have been hunting, which is illegal in this part but might not stop them.

I shook the thoughts out of my head as I caught up to Mark and slowed my pace to match his. We were soon out of the woods but we kept running, through the streets and yards until we had arrived safely back at my front door.

We leaned against the door for a moment, catching our breath. When our breathing slowed to a controlled level I pulled out my key and slowly unlocked the door then eased it open and together we slipped inside. The house was dark and quiet, a good sign. We made our way up the stairs and into my room, where I collapsed on the bed.

"What time is it?" I asked, my voice muffled by pillows.

"11:09," Mark said after he checked the clock on my bedside table.

"Do you want to shower in the morning or now?" I asked.

"Now."

"Okay, you take the littles bathroom, there's towels and everything, you know the drill."

"See you soon," Mark said as he grabbed his pajamas then left my room and went down the hall.

I grabbed my own pajamas and headed down the hall to the bathroom I shared with Jessi and Jill. I turned the shower on, praying the sound of water through the pipes wouldn't wake anyone. I took a cold shower, still sweaty from our run home and quickly washed my hair in body. I climbed out the shower and wrapped my hair in a towel, pulling on my sleep shirt and some shorts.

I quickly brushed my teeth and flossed then ran back to my room. Mark wasn't there yet so I sat on my bed and began to work my brush through my alarmingly tangled hair. I really should cut my hair, but I could never bring myself to do it. It was a dark blonde color now, but when I was younger it had been so silvery blonde it had appeared white. It usually hung in soft waves, which made me think that if it was shorter it would be in curls.

I finished brushing out the ends and moved the brush higher on my head, working the tangles out. By the time Mark came in I was able to brush all the way from the crown of my head to the tips of my hair, where they curled up, brushing the small of my back.

"Can I borrow your brush when you're done?" Mark asked, a sheepish smile on his face.

"Mark," I chastised, "your hair is so long that it is now getting in your eyes yet you still forget to bring a brush."

"Sorry I'm not little miss organized."

I laughed, we both knew I was far from organized.

"Here," I said as I tossed him the brush.

He caught and began yanking it through his hair. I winced at the sight of it, I knew that not everyone had my tender head but it still hurt to see someone else's hair being yanked. I squeezed out my hair one last time and pulled it back into a braid, tying it off with a rubber band I grabbed off my dresser.

Mark finished brushing his hair and clicked off the lights. I scooched over on my large bed, odd for a room such a small size, to make room for him. It was probably odd now, us sharing a bed at our age, but we had been having sleepovers since before I could remember, and old habits die hard. I pushed my pillow as far against my headboard that I could so I could stretch out on my stomach without my feet hanging off the end of the bed.

It was silent for a moment as we both found comfortable positions. Then Mark spoke.

"Who do you think we saw in the woods?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"I'm not sure," I admitted. "I think they had blonde hair though, it caught in the moonlight. And they were wearing an orange shirt."

"That's odd, I don't really know of anyone around here that wears orange."

I nodded, before remembering it was dark and Mark mostly likely couldn't see me. "Yeah," I said instead.

He rolled over and I opened my eyes, turning my head from the window they were facing. Mark was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

"Do you think it was a hunter?" he asked.

"Hunting's illegal here, and besides, they would wake everyone with the gun shot."

"There are other means of hunting," he said. "Like they could be skilled with a bow and arrow like certain people I know." I couldn't see him, I had closed my eyes again, but I was sure he was giving me a pointed look.

"I already told you," I said laughing, "I didn't know I could do that!"

"Sure you didn't."

"Go to sleep Mark."

"Goodnight Emrys."

"Night."


	5. Chapter 5

I awoke the next morning late, as usual. Mark had oh so smartly turned off the alarm when it went off so we could sleep later. Which resulted in us having twenty minutes to get ready and run to school. We scrambled around my room, throwing books back into our backpacks and rushing to brush our teeth. Mark was lucky, all he had to do was rub his hands through his hair and it looked nice. I quickly pulled my braid out and ran my fingers through it before braiding it back up again, it would just have to do.

I yanked on some jeans and a white t-shirt and together Mark and I rushed downstairs, ten minutes to go. I kissed the top of Lanie's head goodbye, James and Elliot had already gone out to catch their bus. I grabbed my lunch from off the counter and smiled when I saw that Dylan had thought to make one for Mark as well. I handed it to him and reminded Lanie to wake Jessi and Jill up in five minutes so they could get her to school on time.

Mark and I sprinted out the door and I prayed I wouldn't be late today. Five minutes later we were in the school and rushing down the hallway. I skidded into the classroom right as the bell rang, my cheeks flushed. Mark was right behind me as we quickly took our seats, heads down, trying to catch our breath.

I looked up and was surprised to see Annabeth wasn't there, she didn't strike me as someone who would skip class, especially their second day. I didn't have to wonder long for five minutes into our lesson she rushed into the classroom, handing the teacher a pink tardy slip and mumbling an apology.

I was sort of surprised at her appearance. Yesterday her outfit had seemed pretty put together, but today she wore her hair in a messy ponytail and there were visible bags under her eyes, presumably from lack of sleep. She wore faded jeans and beat up sneakers, and oddly enough, an orange t-shirt.

I turned behind me and gave Mark a pointed look, didn't we see an orange t-shirt last night? And then there was that odd conversation I had overheard with her and her uncle. Mark shrugged and went back to the assignment so I did the same. English went by smoothly after that, and Annabeth never turned around once to say anything to me.

I was planning on talking to her when the bell rang but she was out of her seat and to the door by the time the chimes finished ringing. I turned to Mark with a confused expression on my face but he just shook his head.

"Don't sweat it Emrys, you sit next to her in Chemistry don't you."

I nodded.

"Perfect, talk to her there then."

We headed to art together. Our teacher, Mr. Cherry, had decided to give us an extra day to finish our projects so Mark and I spent the class time talking and goofing off. Soon our conversation switched to Annabeth.

"Don't you think it's odd she just lives with her uncle?" I aksed.

"Not exactly."

"But where are her parents?"

"I dunno, they could be working overseas or dead or something."

I shrugged.

"I mean, you can't really question that Emrys, look at us. My mom's dead, my dad's barely around since he's always off working, and then there's you."

"Me?" I asked.

"Yeah, you're dad's gone, your mom works full time, you have two cousins who are seniors that live with you, your older brother works to make money to not only put himself through college but Jessi and Jill as well. Then your mom isn't even your real mom, she found you on her doorstep one night."

I turned my head away, I didn't like to talk about that. It was a sensitive topic for me. I always wondered what was so wrong with me that my parents couldn't bear to keep me.

"Sorry Emrys," Mark said, seeing my expression. "It's almost as though to live in this town you have to have an abnormal family."

I nodded, though I knew that wasn't quite true. Plenty of people here had normal families. Why couldn't we.

"Still seems odd to me."

"Yeah, but did you see today?" Mark asked. "She looked like she hadn't slept a wink and her hair barely looked brush. Plus she was wearing an orange t-shirt, the same one we saw in the woods perhaps?"

"We have to go back to the clearing tonight."

"But I can't sleep over again," Mark said. "It'll look suspicious. I can meet you there though. Sneak out at ten?"

I shook my head, "Today's Dylan's night off from work. We'd better make it 11:30."

"Alright," Mark said as the bell rang. "11:30, in the clearing. I'll bring a blanket."

"See you then, and well next period." I said with a smile.

We parted ways as I made my way to chemistry, eager to see Annabeth again. When I got to the chemistry classroom she wasn't there yet. I took my seat and watched as the class slowly filled up, until the only empty seat was right in front of me, where Annabeth sat. I was just beginning to think that she truly had skipped when she slipped into the room, literal seconds before the bell.

It was clever of her, especially if she was avoiding me. We had no time to talk before the bell and now class had started, preventing us from talking now. I slumped in my seat, listening absent mindedly as the teacher droned on. Then she said something that caught my attention, and I sat straight up.

"Today you will be starting your three week projects, which will count for forty percent of your grade. You will be expected to do not only an experiment complete with all the appropriate lap data, but also a research paper and a presentation that will be shown in class. You will be getting class time everyday to work on this, though you still will have to do some at home, especially if you slack off. Your partner will be drawn by random."

The teacher bent down and picked up a large hat off the floor.

"In here are twelve sets of numbers, enough for all twenty four of you. Each of you will draw a number and then meet up with your partner. Today will be the basic planning and outlining of what you would like to do. I will be checking your progress everyday for a daily grade."

The students groaned at the aspect of not getting to pick their partner. I looked around the classroom, realizing I didn't really have anyone in particular I wanted as a partner, or anyone I wanted to avoid, though it would be nice to have Annabeth, she seemed smart and if we were partners she would have to talk to me.

Mrs. Landar began on the right side of the classroom, opposite from where I sat, and went from the front of the row to the back, allowing each student to take a number.

"Don't open your number until everyone has one, then we will all open them at once."

She continued up the aisle until she got to our row. It was only Annabeth, me and a guy who sat one desk behind me, so by the time I picked there were only two slips left. I took the one on the right, maybe it would help me get the _right_ partner. I grimaced inwardly at my own horrid pun.

"Alright," Mrs. Landar said as she walked up to the front of the classroom once again. "Now that everyone has a slip we can all open them. Go ahead."

There was a flurry of movement as everyone opened there slip, then after a moment of silence voices began calling out numbers.

"Four! Who has four?"

"Alright which one of you lucky bastards has got number 11?"

"No that's not right, you can't have 7. I can't work with you!"

After looking at the chaos for a moment I opened my paper. The number three, written in red ink, stared up at me.

I looked up and saw Annabeth staring at me.

"What number do you have?" I asked, holding up my three.

She didn't say anything, only held up her own slip, with its matching three. I smiled, we were partners after all. She smiled the same, but it seemed more forced than usual.

"Well this is good luck," I said.

She didn't say anything, only smiled.

I was about to open my mouth to say more when the teacher's voice cut through the noise of the classroom, silencing it.

"Alright now that everyone has a partner I want to remind you that there will be no switching, no matter who you've got. And it seems that this has taken longer than I anticipated and we're out of time for today. So you're excused but please think over what you want your topic to be, it can be anything of the chemistry matter, and remember you have to be able to do an experiment around it, as well as your research paper and presentation. This is just a suggestion but you may want to exchange cell phone numbers."

The movement started up again as kids began packing up and complaining or celebrating with their friends over their partner situation. I pulled out my phone and turned to Annabeth.

"What's your number?" I asked, "I can call you later tonight or something."

Annabeth, who had been packing her bag, looked up at me. "I don't have a cell phone."

"Oh," I said, unsure what to say next. "Perhaps we could get together sometime."

"Yes, perhaps. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go." With that she brushed her shoulder past me and left out the door, leaving a very confused me in her wake.


	6. Chapter 6

I walked to lunch class in a cloud of confusion. Annabeth had seemed so nice her first day, but now I didn't know what to think. She didn't seem like one of those people who backstabbed someone, acting all nice then turning out to be a total bitch later, just for the sake of it so what was her deal?

I shook my head as I made my way out to the lawn, where Mark and I usually sat. He was already there, munching on a banana like usual. I collapsed next to him with a sigh, laying out on my stomach and burying my face in my jacket.

He cast me a look out the side of his eye. "What's the dealio?"

"Annabeth and I got partnered for our chemistry project," I said, my voice muffled from being buried in my jacket.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Mark asked, playing with my hair. "Now she'll have to talk to you."

"Yeah but she doesn't."

"Give it time, and besides, tonight we will find out if she was or if she wasn't the person we saw in the woods."

I sat up, feeling a bit better now once I had gotten over my initial annoyment. I pulled out my apple and bit into it rather harshly, hurting my front teeth.

Mark sighed and held out his hand. "Give me the apple Emrys before you cause yourself anymore harm."

I handed over the apple in defeat, still trying to chew around the large bite I had taken. Mark pulled out his pocket knife and began cutting the apple into chunks, handing them to me one at a time.

When he was done cutting the apple he poured a bit of water from his water bottle over the knife blade and wiped it on his jeans, cleaning it off. Then he flipped it closed and slipped it back into his pocket. I finished my apple and moved onto my sandwich, spending the rest of lunch in a comfortable silence.

When the bell rang Mark and I picked up our trash and brushed off our pants, heading back inside and to the math classroom. The rest of the day went on uneventful. I saw Annabeth once more in the hallway, but her head was down, her hair coming out of her ponytail and covering her face. I turned in my history essay and took our usual Thursday French quiz. The whole time I kept waiting for last period to come so I could see how Annabeth acted in P.E.

It felt like forever waiting for the bell signaling the end of French to ring, and when it did I grabbed Mark's hand, weaving in and out of people in the hall in a desperate rush to get to P.E. We ran into the gym and split up, going to change in our locker rooms.

When I entered the locker room I saw to my surprise that Annabeth was already there, changing. She must have a class right next to the gym. I nodded hello to her, which she returned with a smile.

I opened up my locker and put my bag in, but not before pulling out my fresh gym clothes. I quickly got changed then sat down on the bench to pull my converse on. To my surprise Annabeth sat next to me.

"Hey Emrys," she said with a cautious smile.

I didn't know what she was getting at with all these mood swings but I decided to be nice anyway.

"Hello Annabeth," I said, "how are you?"

"I'm fine, but look, I wanted to apologize for how I've been acting. My uncle told me we only had to live here for a bit, a month or so, just long enough for him to finish some job he had to do here, but this morning he told me it looked like we would be staying closer to three or four months."

"Oh," I said, glad to be getting an explanation.

"Yeah," she said, and I could have sworn she wiped at her eyes. "I just really miss New York and my friends. And I was counting on being back soon, there's this guy that I see over winter break, but now I don't know about him, and it's all just kind of a lot to take in. but I am glad to be your partner for the science project, I really am."

I smiled at her then stood up, offering down my hand. She took it and I pulled her up off the bench. "Do you think your uncle would let you visit your friends in New York over the break?"

"Perhaps," she said, following me out to the gym. "But he's usually pretty protective. Do I look like I've been crying?" she asked suddenly, turning to face me.

I smiled at her, she looked perfectly normal. "Not at all."

"Good," she said, exhaling. "Now let's go, I can't wait for this day to be over."

We joined Mark in the gym, today was another archery day. We had a fun time together, laughing and talking, trying with no avail to help Mark properly shoot an hour. The hour flew by and soon the coach was calling clean up.

Annabeth and I headed back to the locker room to change and grab our bags.

"Do you want to get together to work on our project today?" I asked as I shouldered my bag.

"I'd love to, but can we do it at your place? Mine isn't exactly company ready at the moment."

"Sure," I said with a laugh. "I just have to warn you, I have quite a few siblings."

"Really?" she asked as we left the locker room.

We waved bye to Mark, who smiled at us and nodded to me, reminding me of our plan to meet up in the clearing tonight.

"Yeah, I have three younger, one older, and two cousins who live with me."

"What about your parents?" Annabeth asked.

"Just my mom, my dad died six or so years ago."

"Huh." She said, and we continued our walk in silence.

"What about you?" I asked after a while. "Do you have any siblings?"

She smiled, sort of sadly. "I have a couple of half siblings in New York on my mom's side, then two little brothers from my dad off in San Francisco, but none are related directly to me."

"And you don't live with either of your parents?"

"No, I prefer to live with my uncle."

I nodded. "Do you have everything you need for the project? Do you need to stop by your house?"

"Yes actually, just to tell my uncle where I'm going."

We stopped at her house as she ran up the sidewalk, promising to only be a minute. Sure enough she emerged seconds later, firmly shutting the door behind her. She ran lightly down her front path and joined me on the sidewalk. Together we walked the final few blocks to my house.

"Woah, I love your house's architecture."

I laughed, actually looking at my house for the first time in a while. It was pretty nice, painted a pale blue color, faded over the years. The shutters and trim were white and it had a dark roof. There were quite a few windows in the front, as that's where most of the rooms were located.

"Thanks," I said as we approached. "Now remember the warning about the siblings."

"I remember," Annabeth said with a laugh.

"Alright then, welcome to the Scotts household," I said as I pushed open the front door.

We walked in and I immediately saw Lanie's little head pop up from behind the couch.

"Emrys you're home! Ooh and you've brought a friend, she's _so_ pretty!" Lanie called as she ran up to hug me, then she peeked shyly behind me at Annabeth.

"Lanie, this is Annabeth. Annabeth this is Lanie, she's six."

Lanie emerged from behind me as Annabeth held out her hand for Lanie to shake it. Lanie shyly took her hand and shook it, like she had seen us do so many times before.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Lanie how's your reading coming?" I asked as Annabeth and I put our bags down by the couch.

"Better, but I still have lot's more to go."

"You'd better get started then. I tell you what, if you read two whole chapters by yourself before bed time then I'll read three to you."

"Really?" she asked, excitement high in her voice.

"Really," I said.

She squealed and grabbed her small book, throwing herself onto the couch and quickly opening it.

"She's already reading?" Annabeth asked as we picked up our bags and headed up the stairs.

"Yeah, I read all the time and she wanted to learn as well. I taught her when she was four."

We got to the top of the stairs and I paused at Elliot and James's door.

"Do you want to meet my two little brothers?" I asked.

"Sure."

I cracked the door open and peered in, then started laughing before opening the door all the way. James and Elliot were sitting on the ground next to their bunk beds, playing Mario Kart on their small tv, lips pressed together in an intense gaming face. I waited for a moment for the race to end before clearing my throat.

"Emmy!" Elliot said excitedly as he jumped up to give me a hug.

"How was school Elliot?" I asked as I spun him around then put him down, reaching down to hug James as well.

"Boring. It's too dull. I want to learn more than just what they're teaching."

"And what about you James?" I asked.

James and Elliot were pretty similar, except in school. Where Elliot excelled James struggled.

James shrugged.

"One of those days?" I asked.

He nodded, "Who is this?" he asked, motioning to Annabeth.

"This is my new friend Annabeth, Annabeth this is James, and Elliot." I said, motioning to each of them in turn.

"Hi guys," Annabeth said with a small wave.

The two waved back before turning back to their game.

"Come on," I said to Annabeth as I closed their door. "They're going to be pretty distracted for a while.

"How old are they?" Annabeth asked as we started down the hall to Jessi and Jill's room.

"Uh, James is ten and I'm pretty sure Elliot is 8."

I reached Jessi and Jill's door and knocked twice.

"Can I come in?" I asked. I heard a muffled yes so I pushed open the door.

My two cousins were studying but they both looked up when I walked in, seemingly grateful for the distraction.

"Hey guys, this is my friend Annabeth, Annabeth these are my cousins, Jessi and the one on the right is Jill. They're seventeen."

"Are you two twins?" Annabeth asked after they had both said hello.

Jessi nodded, "All my life I've been stuck with her."

Jill grinned, "You know you love it."

Jessi rolled her eyes.

"When will dinner be ready?" I asked.

"Probably around seven when Mom gets home, she's picking up pizza."

"Alright, we'll be in my room working on a chemistry project."

"Sure thing," Jessi said. "Let us know if you need anything."

I nodded and Annabeth and I left and went back to my room.

"You're weren't kidding when you said you had a pretty full house."

"Yeah," I said with a laugh. "It gets pretty crowded at times but it's great."

I sat down on the floor and pulled out my notebook and laptop, motioning for Annabeth to sit as well.

"Alright then, where should we get started?"


	7. Chapter 7

Annabeth and I worked for about three hours or so, establishing a time line we should follow in order to finish the project without having to do much of it at home. Then we decided on our topic and divided out certain aspects we would research. We decided to leave the actual research for tomorrow.

By the time Annabeth left, around six, I was exhausted. But I still had other homework to do and my moonlit adventure with Mark to look forward to tonight. I sat back down on my floor and got to work. Sometime later Lanie came up with a plate of pizza for me, which I gratefully accepted. I finished my homework and showered, then went downstairs so say goodnight to mom, then back up. It was only 9:45, so I set my alarm for 11 and crawled into bed, hoping to get an hour or so of sleep.

I slipped into a dreamless sleep, glad for once to be a heavy sleeper. I was only awoken by my phone, buzzing under my pillow, signaling that 11 pm had indeed come.

I eased myself out from under the warm covers, an accomplishment in itself, and pulled a pair of jeans over the leggings I was sleeping in. Then I put on another shirt, a sweater, and finally my leather jacket. I tugged my light hair under a dark colored hat and grabbed my boots from off the floor. After a second thought I reached back and grabbed my gloves off the dresser, after all it was supposed to be thirty degrees tonight, below freezing.

When I slipped into the hallway I breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that all the lights were off. I felt guilty as I tiptoed down the stairs. Sneaking out once without getting caught was one thing but two nights in a row seemed like tempting the fates a bit too much. But I had promised Mark and we had to see if the person was Annabeth, and if they would come back.

I made my way into the kitchen and to the front door. The alarm was off, thank goodness. I felt in my pocket to make sure the key was still there and then slipped on my boots, then my gloves. I took a deep breath and eased the lock into the open position, then quick as I could I opened the door and stepped out the house, shutting it silently behind me.

The cold air bit at my neck and exposed wrists as I quickly relocked the door and tucked the key back into my pocket. I began walking rather quickly towards the woods, the moon lighting my way. The icy air ate its way through my jeans, curling around my legs and settling itself under my hat and around my neck, draping over me like a scarf.

I picked up my pace until I was at a steady jog, reaching the woods in no time. Mark and I had agreed to meet on the outer edges of the woods, changing our plans slightly so that we could go to the clearing together. As I took a couple of steps into the tree line I pulled out my key and faced it at an angle so it could catch the moonlight, making a small flash at the dark figure I could barely make out.

The figure stepped forward into the moonlight, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that it was indeed Mark. He came towards me and nodded a hello, his lower face hidden by a scarf. I laughed silently at his hunched appearance, his most effective way to fend off the cold.

Together we made our way through the woods and soon reached the edge of the clearing. We crouched down and began a whispered conversation.

"We're not going into the light, right?" Mark asked, his breath creating a small puff of air that caught in the moonlight.

"No, I don't think they actually saw us last time, and if they did I doubt they think we're coming back. Let's wait in the shadows, maybe sneak around to the other side and see if they're there."

Mark nodded and pulled his scarf back over his face, motioning for me to lead the way. I crept around the side of the clearing, aiming for the small creek I knew that ran along the opposite side. It took about ten minutes of painfully slow walking until I reached the creek.

I stopped there, holding out a hand behind me to stop Mark as well. By now our eyes had adjusted pretty well to the darkness, allowing me to see everything pretty well. The only problem with that is the people we were spying on would be able to see us just as well, but I felt confident in our hidden place beneath the shadows.

We were still for a bit, watching the landscape, waiting for someone to show up. It had been five minutes and my calves were starting to cramp from doing a semi-squat in an awkward position for so long. I was about to switch my legs when I heard a rustling. Soon a small figure appeared in front of us, just a couple of feet away. It was most likely a girl, but her large coat made it hard to tell.

She was still for a bit, then something that astonished me even more happened. What appeared to be a man on a horse stepped out from the shadows as well, but it almost seemed as if he were too far forward on the horse. As though he wasn't sitting on top of the horse, but as though he and the horse were one. I was scared for a moment, but Mark said nothing out of the usual and the girl breathed a sigh of relief so I held my tongue.

"Chiron, you're back. I was beginning to worry. Did you talk to them successfully?"

"I tried my child, but you know how stubborn the gods can be. The girl's mother has yet to reveal herself, but I fear the worst. A maiden goddess, it is unheard of. If the truth is found out there will be war, I can promise you that. This is worse than breaking the pact of the big three. It is a wonder she has gotten so old without any attacks yet."

"I know, but I worry. It appears she was left on a doorstep when she was younger, which means we have no idea who her father is. And she seems to have a good connection with her family, it will be hard to pull her away from that."

"Do not trouble yourself Annabeth. It seems as though we will be delayed, but in order to do this under the gods' noses we must take precautions. I am still undecided on whether or not to place the girl in the undecided cabin or the big house. I fear the big house will raise suspicion among the campers, but placing her in the undetermined cabin will raise suspicion among the gods."

"Can we trust Mr.D to keep a secret?"

"We have to, we have no other choice. I just worry what will become of this child. She is undoubtedly the daughter of the one you suspect, but what that means for her I do not know. Perhaps she would be better off joining the hunters."

"She would never do that, I can tell."

"Then worry not, we will find another solution. Now, if you will excuse me I have been stuck in that blasted wheelchair long enough, I'm off for a run. And you'd better get back to bed; you have school in the morning don't you?"

Annabeth groaned and pulled her jacket tighter around her, then walked off, revealing the horse man thing to us. I had to clamp my hand over my mouth to hold in a gasp. That man was definitely morphed with the horse, no doubt about it. The horse-man reached his arms up and stretched. Then he took a deep breath and turned around, galloping off.

Mark and I were still for a moment. Then he grabbed my arm, pulling me up. We headed back out the woods in silence. We got to the edge of the forest and stopped. I sat down, trying to process what I saw.

"What was that?" I asked myself.

"Sounded to me like a bunch of lunatics. I mean gods? What camp? And why was Annabeth there, and why was her uncle riding a horse?"

"What do you mean 'riding a horse'?" I asked, turning to Mark. "Her uncle _was_ the horse."

"Are you sure you aren't too tired Emrys? No person can _be_ a horse."

"They're talking about gods and pretty much implying me every time they said 'her' and you're not going to believe the horse-man I saw?" I whisper yelled.

"Lower your voice. I think they're crazy, and I know what I saw. There was a full horse with a full man sitting on top of it. Maybe the light was tricking your eyes."

"Maybe the light was tricking _your _eyes." I murmured.

"Let's go back home, get some sleep. I'll come by to walk you to school tomorrow morning, we can talk about it then." Mark said as he stood up.

I got up myself, brushing my jeans off as I did.

"See you tomorrow morning then," I said as I left, going right. Mark did the same, going towards his house in the opposite direction.

'Maybe my mind was just seeing things,' I thought as I made my way through the dark and quiet sleep. 'Or maybe Mark was the one seeing things,' another thought said.

I sighed as I reached down and pulled off my boots, finally feeling the numbness my feet had acquired from being cold for so long. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my key, easing it into the lock and slowly turning it. The lock clicked open and I slipped inside, placing the key back onto the mantle where it belonged.

I hurried up the stairs on silent feet and into my room. I didn't even bother turning on the light as I stripped free of my outer wear and crawled into bed.

12:49, the clock read. I sighed and closed my eyes again, and then something even crazier than a horse man and talk of gods and goddess happened. For when I closed my eyes, for the first time since I could remember, I dreamed.


	8. Chapter 8

Having never dreamed before I was frightened at first. Visions began swirling in front of my eyes, changing too fast for me to notice. It was only when I had caught on that I was in a dream that I calmed down and was able to see more clearly. A scene unfolded itself out before me, a dark forest, just light enough to make out the shapes of trees. Suddenly a glowing figure appeared in the forest, a girl, maybe twelve years of age, she had dark brown hair and wore a glowing white hunting outfit. She carried a bow and a quiver full of arrows against her back, both of them shone as if they were made out of moonlight itself.

The girl spun around, confused. Then her eyes focused, right at me.

"You have to stop this!" she cried, rushing towards me. "I've protected you this far but that protection will fade if you keep going on the path you're currently on. Stay away from the unknown, suppress your memories of last night, please it is for your sake, it is-"

The girl suddenly broke off her words, turning a fearful face towards the sky. A large bolt of lightning sliced across the previously nonexistent sky, and thunder rumbled so loud that I thought it couldn't possibly be a dream, it felt too real.

After the thunder finished rumbling the girl responded as if it had spoken words she could understand.

"I will not stand for this! I will protect her no matter what the cost."

This time when the thunder roared Emrys could hear the voice that was so cleverly hidden behind it.

"You have been warned young one, that 'cost' may just be your life."

"Then so I shall pay it!" the girl screamed back at the sky.

"So shall it be." The voice in the thunder answered.

I wanted to run out, to drag the girl to shelter, to protect her from whatever horrid thing was happening next.

But it was too late for any actions, and I couldn't get my feet to move anyway. The wind began picking up, faster and faster, until I felt as though I would be ripped from the ground. The winds began swirling tighter and tighter around the girl in the middle, ripping her bow and arrows from her back and twisting her long, dark hair into a knotted mess.

"No!" she screamed as her feet began lifting off the ground, she was being sucked into the cyclone that had formed.

I reached a hand out, this was my dream after all, I could control it. But it did no good, and the girl suddenly shot towards the sky at an alarming speed. I tilted my head up, trying to watch her until the end, but I must have tilted it back too far for everything went dark

A new vision formed, I was standing in a cabin of some sort, with a couple of bunk beds. There were cobwebs crowding the corners of the ceiling and dust on the floor. When I walked to the door I left no footprints, as if I were floating mere centimeters off the ground. I opened the door and peered out. It looked as though I was at some sort of camp ground, there were several other cabins around me, each one looking very different from the one next to it. They all came together to form a sort of horse shoe shape, with what looked like a basket ball court in the middle.

I stepped all the way out and made my way up the hill, away from the cabins. When I looked back I say that the cabin I had emerged to was glowing s soft silvery color. When I turned back around I was shocked to see that it was day, it was night only a moment ago.

Kids and teenagers, whom I assumed to be campers, rushed around me, as if they were in fast motion and I was on pause in the middle. Their orange shirts burred with the odd sort of swords and daggers they seemed to be holding. Some were even adorned in armor. Up ahead I saw a large strawberry field, and beyond that a Victorian looking house, blue paneling with white trim. I walked towards it, ignored by the campers moving around me.

On the porch was someone who looked like Annabeth's uncle, in the same wheelchair, same blankets wrapped around his legs. But then he made a move to stand up, which was impossible I thought. However what happened next seemed even more impossible. As the blankets fell away to reveal a sort of fake legs system Annabeth's uncle's torso grew and elongated, skin melting into white hair, then two legs with hooves at the end, then a long body, and finally his back legs came out.

A man with a horses' body, that's what he was. I gasped and stumbled back tripping over a stick that was lying on the ground. Unable to catch myself with my hands I fell all the way back, hitting my head on the ground. When I opened my eyes I was someplace new, someone's bed room, a teenage boy, guessing by the band posters on the wall and dirty laundry littering the floor. The room looked well lived in, knick knacks cluttering the top of the dresser and a stack of school books in one corner.

However there were a couple of odd artifacts lying around that suggested he wasn't all that ordinary. There was a bronze chest plate in the corner, leaning against a wall. Then there was a small pile of what looked like bronze daggers, their tip pointed into the carpet and their handle leaning against the wall as well. On his dresser, beside his school books, was a book that looked like it was in ancient Greek.

I finally raised my head and looked around the room, finally spotting the boy. He was probably around my age, fifteen or sixteen years old, asleep in a tangled mess of blankets in the corner of his bed. He wore an orange shirt like I had seen so many other campers wear, like what I had seen Annabeth wear, so i knew he must go to the camp, though judging by his room that wasn't where he currently was sleeping. He tossed and turned, his forehead gleaming with sweat as he mumbled in his sleep.

I studied him for a moment, trying to make out words he was saying, but they were too quiet to hear. He tossed again, a look of pain on his face, and I felt an overwhelming feeling of protection towards this boy, for reasons I did not know. I stepped forward to brush his dark hair off his forehead but as soon as my fingers touched his skin I was sucked into another vision.

When I came to I was standing in a large room, bigger than anything I had ever seen, and before me were people, large people, giants perhaps, all sitting on large thrones and arguing. Some wore modern clothing; others wore tunics or the like. I studied their faces for a moment and was surprised to see that the young girl I saw earlier was among them.

I was about to step forward, ask what the hell was going on, when I felt a cool hand wrap around my arm and pull me back. I was too shocked to scream, but a hand came over my mouth nonetheless, though it was more of a gentle 'stay quiet or they'll kill you' rather than a 'stay quiet or I'll kill you' thing, which didn't really offer any more comfort.

I twisted in the person's grip and was shocked to see the boy that I had just seen sleeping on his bed. He gave me a questioning look, and I was about to open my mouth when he held a finger to his lips and pointed at the large giants, perhaps they could hear if we talked. I nodded and studied him for a moment.

He had tan skin and dark tousled hair. His nose was small and sloped, a Grecian nose I noticed. He had high cheek bones and impressive eyes, a deep green color. He was wearing the orange shirt I had seen him sleeping in and sweatpants. Like me he was shoeless. I turned away from him and tried to focus on the giant's conversation but it made no sense.

Although I could see their mouths moving their words came out garbled and distorted, like a language that sounded like English but at the same time wasn't. I peeked out from behind the stone column the boy had pulled me behind and was surprised to see the girl staring at me again.

I tried to take a small step forward but my barefoot skidded on the floor and the giants' heads turned towards me. The boy gasped and grabbed my arm and my vision went dark once again. When I came to I was standing back in the boy's room, although this time he was awake. He was looking around, as though he could sense my presence but at the same time couldn't see me.

Finally he shook his head and buried his face back in the covers. I stood still for a moment, listening to him muttering something about 'never eating that many blue waffles again'.

When I got tired of just standing there and realized I wasn't leaving this vision just yet I felt sort of awkward, watching this boy I didn't know sleep. So I turned back to his desk, peering down at the ancient Greek book. I reached a hand out to touch it, perhaps see exactly why he had it on his desk, but as soon as my hand made contact I was back in the blackness I had come to know as the void between the dreams.

Random flashes came up before my eyes, my siblings, one by one, then my cousins, then my mom and dad. Mark's face flashed before my eyes, as did Annabeth's and her weird-ass uncle. Then came the girl's face, the one that flew into the clouds and later appeared as a giant. And lastly a man's face, on I didn't recognize. He had light blue eyes, almost identical to mine, which I found odd since I had yet to meet a person that shared my same eye color. He had light colored hair too, streaked with grey. His face faded from my eyes as fast as the rest of them, but remained burned into my memory.

Everything went dark for a split second, than a sharp noise filled my head. I sat straight up, in my own bed this time, to the noise of my alarm clock going off. I groaned and wiped my forehead, which was covered in sweat. My body ached all over form my restless night as I moved sluggishly around my room. I got ready and went downstairs to grab my lunch, hurrying out the door after a couple of quick goodbyes.

I made it to school relatively on time, but the whole walk there my muscles had felt as though I ran a marathon the previous day. I collapsed into my first period seat and put my head down, waiting for Mark to arrive.

I must have fallen asleep for I was woken by the bell. I looked around and saw to my surprise that while Mark was not here today Annabeth was. I groaned for what must have been the tenth time this morning and put my head back down on my desk. This was going to be a long day.


	9. Chapter 9

The day went by with a boring undertone to it, without Mark keeping my mood light and cheery. I sat with Annabeth at lunch, and though I could tell she knew something was up with me I didn't say anything about seeing her in the forest, or about my highly unusual dreams. Instead we talked of mundane things, planned some on our project and such. I asked her how her Uncle was doing and she asked me how my family was doing.

Chemistry was much of the same, and I was glad the day was over halfway done, I just wanted to go home and crawl into bed. We were packing up when a student, one of the office aides, slipped into the classroom and handed the teacher a pink slip. I didn't pay attention much, as those slips were never for me, but today was different. The teacher read the slip for a moment before looking up at the class.

"Emrys?" she called, "Could you come here for a moment?"

I finished packing up my bag and nodded goodbye to Annabeth before heading up to the front of the classroom.

"It seems as though your brother is waiting for you up in the office, he says it's urgent."

My stomach immediately dropped to my toes. There was no way Dylan would skip out on work to come to my school unless something was wrong. I grabbed the pink slip out my teacher's hand and tore off down the hall. I tried not to think on my way down to the office, and soon enough I was there.

My fears were confirmed when I got into the office. Elliot and James sat sullen on the chairs, and little Lanie's face was streaked with tears. When I got into the office she ran up to me and I scooped her into my arms.

"What's wrong? What happened?" I asked as Lanie buried her cold face into my neck.

"I don't know how, I just don't know, but something went wrong in the wiring at home, the kitchen caught on fire, took the firemen forever to get the fire out."

"But they got it out, right? No one was hurt."

"No we're all fine. We also have to go back and salvage everything we can, and we have to stay elsewhere for a while, but the damage Emrys, I don't know how we can afford the damage." Dylan looked down at his hands and I could tell that tears were threatening to make an appearance.

"It'll be alright though, we can get through this. Where are Jessi and Jill?"

"Still in class, I called them but I don't want to pull them out, they have a test later on and they need to take it. Mom's on her way home. We're going to drop the kids off at Mrs. Holland's and then go meet Mom at the house. It'll be okay Emrys, we'll make it better, I promise."

I nodded sadly and gave Dylan a weak smile. We had to make this better, not only for us but also for the littles.

"Alright then, let's go."

Dylan took Elliot's hand and James ran up to loop a finger through one of my felt loops. I kept Lanie in my arms, though she had calmed down enough to stop crying. We go to the car and everyone buckled up, then Dylan pulled out the parking lot and headed over to Mrs. Holland's. Like expected Lanie didn't want to leave us, but after some convincing and a promise of a mug full of hot chocolate courtesy of Mrs. Holland she finally let go of me and allowed herself to be carried into the house.

Dylan and I got back in the car, wrapped in a heavy blanket of silence. We were on the road for a bit before he spoke.

"Are you alright? Well obviously not but I mean, you will be, right?" He asked, concern filling his voice.

"Dylan, I'll be fine, honestly. It's you I'm worried about, you don't have to worry about all of us, you're only 19."

He shrugged and said no more. Soon we pulled up at our house and I had to hold in a gasp. The whole bottom side was blackened and burnt. In some parts you could see all the way through the house, where the fire ate away at it. Jessi and Jill's room was directly above the kitchen, but aside from scorch marks on the wall it seemed pretty unharmed.

"So what are we to do?" I asked Dylan as we got out the car.

"We're basically here to salvage everything we can. They're going to have to do some serious repair on the house, so we basically have to pack up everything we're going to need for a couple of weeks and then put everything else in drawers or on the bed so that the workers can cover it from saw dust and paint."

"So maybe like ten or so outfits for us and then our bath stuff."

"Exactly," Dylan said.

"Let's get to work then."

Dylan went upstairs to do the younger kids' rooms while I got started on the downstairs, piling all out breakable stuff into cabinets and pulling everything out of the kitchen that wasn't burnt. We had gotten the all clear to go into Jessi and Jill's room, there was still a lot of support left to the house, but we decided to wait and let them to their own room.

We had gotten a good amount of work done by the time Jessi and Jill got home so once they finished their room we would be ready to leave. We piled four large suitcases as well as two boxes full of the most valuable stuff into the trunk and back seat of Dylan's car. Mom had come home a while ago and helped too, but not before giving each of us a long hug.

"Where are we going to go?" I asked as Jessi and Jill got into mom's car and I into Dylan's.

"I'm not too sure. I know that Mrs. Holland is able to keep the littles tonight, as well as me, seeing how she has two guest bedrooms. I'm just trying to find a place for you all to sleep." My mom answered through the open car windows.

"I can call Mark," I offered. "His dad is out of town and I know he has plenty of room in the house."

"If you don't think he would mind," my mother said uncertainly.

"I doubt he would." I picked up my phone and dialed his number. He picked up on the first ring, his voice anxious.

"Emrys, I saw the fire on the news are you okay? I'm so sorry I didn't come to school today, I wasn't feeling too well and you weren't there to like make me go or anything but are you okay? Was it too bad? Was anyone hurt?"

"Calm down Mark, I'm fine. We're all fine. It was mostly the kitchen that caught fire and the repair men will begin working on it tomorrow. Insurance isn't really covering it though so I know it's going to be tough. Mom and the littles are staying with Mrs. Holland, do you think Jessi, Jill, Dylan and I can stay with you? Just for a short while."

"Yeah, yeah of course it's no problem. Stay as long as you'd like. When will you be over?" he asked.

"On my way now."

"See you soon Emrys."

"Bye Mark."

I hung up and nodded at my mom. She breathed a visible sigh of relief and then smiled.

"Let's go to Mrs. Holland's first. We can fill her in and drop off mine and the kid's suitcases and the extra boxes, and then Jessi and Jill can ride with Dylan and Emrys to Mark's."

Everyone agreed to Mom's plan and we were off. We dropped mom and her stuff off no problem, then Jessi and Jill crawled into the now empty backseat and we set off to Mark's.

It was just getting dark when we arrived and I walked right in, knowing he would unlock the front door if he knew I was coming.

"We're here" I called into the quiet house as the others filed in behind me.

"Great!" Mark exclaimed as he came bounding down the stairs. "I set up the two downstairs bedrooms as well as the one upstairs. You guys can take your pick, you're also welcome to anything in the kitchen and all, my dad shouldn't be home for another four days or so."

"Thank you so much Mark," Dylan said. "I'm going to bed now, I have to be up for work in the morning. Night." He said as he walked into one of the downstairs rooms.

"We're going to bed too. Make sure you're up in time for school tomorrow Emrys. No sense falling behind." Jessi warned as she and Jill retreated into the other downstairs room.

"Well then," Mark said. "I guess you get the room next to mine."

He grabbed my suitcase and ran up the stairs, leaving me no choice but to follow behind. He placed my suitcase next to the closed door but didn't stop, instead continuing on to his own room. I followed him and flopped down onto his bed, exhausted. He sprawled out next to me and sighed.

"I'm exhausted," I said, my voice muffled by the blankets.

"You also smell like smoky wood." Mark said.

I turned and glared at him.

"Hey!" He protested, "It's a nice smell! Although you do have a bit of ash in your hair."

"I'd better go shower then. Night Mark."

"Night," he responded as I left the room.


	10. Chapter 10

**HELLO ALL THIS IS A PSA I AM DELETING THIS STORY AND STARTING ALL OVER ANEW. IM GOING TO LEAVE THIS UP UNTIL THE NEW STORY IS POSTED, PROBABLY AROUND FEBRUARY AS I WANT TO GET TEN OR SO CHAPTERS WRITTEN BEOFRE I START POSTING. THE NEW STORY WILL HAVE THE SAME IDEA BUT A LOT OF SMALLER DETAILS WILL BE CHANGED THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTADNING**


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